NYU study indicates issues with Latinas learning about diabetes risks

A study by researchers at NYU indicates about 5.5 million Latin-American women suffer from elevated fasting plasma glucose and nearly four million of those women were never told by a healthcare provider they were at risk for diabetes, pre-diabetes or were borderline for diabetes.

The study, “Latinas with Elevated Fasting Plasma Glucose: An Analysis Using NHANES 2009-2010 Data,” which was led by Shiela M. Strauss, PhD, associate professor, NYU College of Nursing, points to the urgent need for alternate sites of opportunity for diabetes screenings, according to a news release.

The study also points to the need for effective and culturally sensitive follow-up care and case management. The study appears in Hispanic Health Care International, Vol.12:1, March 2014.

“Almost one million of these four million Latinas had not seen a doctor or other healthcare provider in the past 12 months,” Strauss said in the release. “This is of particular concern as it eliminates a potential opportunity for them to learn about their diabetes risk and their elevated FPG before it causes serious avoidable harm.”

The study’s data were drawn and analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010. The researchers examined data from 1,467 women who were given physical examinations and participated in interviews that asked about their socioeconomic status and demographic and health-related issues.

The researchers looked at how many women reported never being told by a healthcare provider that they were at risk of diabetes, had pre-diabetes or were borderline for diabetes. They then analyzed data from Hispanic subgroups, because cultural differences may argue for the development of different diabetes-related health-preserving strategies.

Study co-author Sherry Deren, PhD, director, Center for Drug Use and HIV Research and senior research scientist, College of Nursing, said in the release that the findings indicate “the urgent need to incorporate diabetes screening and culturally competent care across a broader range of healthcare visits.”